History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c81.275
History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c81.275
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v6.c81.275.1
When the tithi in question is 60 ghaṭikās in extent and begins with sunrise (i e when it is pūrnā) there is no difficulty at all When a tithi is śuddhā in the sense given by the Dharmasindhu then also there is generally no difficulty. Some general rules have to be kept in mind. Śruti says¹⁸³ 'forenoon is for the gods, midday for men and afternoon for pitṛs'. Manu (IV. 152) says one should carry out morning duties, decorating the body, bath, brushing the teeth, applying collyrium to the eyes and worship of gods in forenoon alone'. Therefore all religious acts prescribed for being performed by day on certain tithis for gods must be begun in the morning even if the tithi is mixed with another on that day, but all vratas to be performed in the evening or night have to be performed on the tithi existing in the evening or night even¹⁸⁴ though it may be mixed up (viddhā) with another tithi Another matter to be noted is that in both halves of the month all tithis may affect the previous tithi and following tithi by three muhūrtas (i e six nāḍīs or ghaṭikās)¹⁸⁵ Some tithis produce *vedha* by a larger number of ghatikās e. g. the 5th makes sasthi affected by twelve nādīs, 10th makes 11th viddhā by 15 nādīs, &c. Viddhā tithis are in some cases fit for performing religious acts, sometimes they are not. All rites¹⁸⁶ of the śrauta or smārta type, vrata, dāna and every other act enjoined by the Veda do not yield proper reward as long as there is no determination of the tithi proper for it.
v6.c81.275.2
That tithi which covers up the time (such as morning), noon, whole day &c. at which a religious act is prescribed to be done is the proper one for¹⁸⁷ that act. The first principle to¹⁸⁸ remember is that Kāla (the time prescribed for a rite) is not a mere detail, but it is a *nimitta* (an occasion) on the happening of which a rite is to be performed and that therefore what is done at some time other than the prescribed one is practically as good as not done. There is a text of the Tai. S. II. 2. 5. 4 which indicates this principle about Kāla It says 'that man is cut off from the heavenly world, who desiring to perform the darśa-pūrṇamāsa rites transgresses the time of full Moon or New Moon'. Hemādri¹⁸⁹ strongly emphasizes the performance of rites on the proper time and states that a gauṇakāla is resorted to for escaping from the censure of śiṣṭas or for the solace of one's mind or because there is no other alternative.
v6.c81.275.3
If a tithi can be had on two days and at the required time or if it does not exist on both days at the time required or it extends only up to a part of the time for which it is required, then the decision is arrived at, as a general rule, by what is called 'yugmavākya' to be cited below.¹⁹⁰ Suppose, for example, that a vrata is to be performed at noon on a certain tithi, then that tithi may exist at noon on two days or suppose that the tithi begins one or two ghaṭikās after noon and ends on the next day one or two ghaṭikās before noon, then the decision as to which tithi (whether *pūrva-viddhā* or *para-viddhā*) is proper for the act would have to be decided as a general rule by the *Yugmavākya*. The *Yugmavākya* may be translated as follows. 'The pairs (or combinations) of the following tithis lead to great reward, viz. of the 2nd and 3rd tithis, of the 4th and 5th, of the 6th and 7th, of the 8th and 9th, of the 11th and 12th, of the 14th with pūrṇimā (Full moon tithi) and of Amāvāsyā with the 1st: the reverse (i. e. combinations or pairs of other tithis) results in great loss, such combinations destroy all former (accumulated) merit.' In these verses there are seven pairs and they are mutually applicable. The question may be asked. on what tithi a vrata prescribed for the 2nd tithi should be performed if the 2nd is combined with the first on one day (that is, it is *pūrvaviddhā*) and is also combined with the 3rd on the next day (i. e. it is *paraviddhā*)?
v6.c81.275.4
The reply is as a general rule the day on which the 2nd is combined with the 3rd tithi should be the proper one for the dvitīyāvrata and not the day on which 2nd tithi is combined with the first. Similarly, in the case of a vrata to be performed on tṛtīyā, if the 3rd tithi occurs on one civil day combined with the 2nd and on the next day it is combined with the 4th, then the proper day as a general rule for a tṛtīyā-vrata is the one on which the 2nd and 3rd tithis are in combination and not the other day on which the 3rd and 4th tithis combine. The result of this passage is that combinations of 1st and 2nd tithi, of the 3rd and 4th, of 5th and 6th, of 7th and 8th, of the 9th and 10th, of the 10th and 11th, of 12th and 13th, of 13th and 14th, of Pūrṇimā with the first and of Amāvāsyā with 14th are generally excluded as improper.¹⁹¹